Lost in limbo
by Leanna68
Summary: one of the ship that was to escort the flag ship from the dying planet of thundera was thought lost to a mutant attack how ever new information was found about its survival and possible new refugees. just a note this is a whole new story from my other ones
1. Chapter 1

Lost in limbo

Chapter 1

By lady Leanna

Stars twinkled brightly in the dark sky, the moon hid behind a stray cloud casting an eerie shadow on the landscape below all life on Thundera accept those who thrived in the dark, settled down for their nightly slumber. Even the ThunderCats were readying themselves for a night rest. Tygra sat in the control room waiting for one of the night guards to come so he could take his leave and go to bed.

The tiger checked the time and stretched his muscles; his shift would end in a few minutes. just as the doors to the control room opened the communication console beeped, "figures," the tiger grumbled and pushed the com, "Cat's Lair, Tygra here".

Mandora's face filled the screen "Tygra, sorry for calling at this late hour, but I have some information that Lord Lion-O should be aware of"

Tygra sat forward in his chair "relating to?" the tiger asked.

"One of our scouts came across a distress signal from a planet twenty parsecs away from Thundera" Mandora said.

"And?" the tiger asked

"This is where is becomes strange, the signal was sent 15 years ago" Mandora answered, "From one of the original Thunderian ships that left during your planets destruction"

Tygra's eyes widened a bit, it would make sense, but they had thought all surviving ships were accounted for and all survivors were now back home on Thundera. "but if it was sent that long ago, how do you know anyone is still alive?"

"The signal was a recording, I will send it through to you and a full report of what we discovered" Mandora said, "I leave this matter in your hands now ThunderCats and if you require further assistance do not hesitate to contact us, Mandora out"

"But" Tygra said but before he had the chance to speak further the connection went black. Tygra just shook his head and waited for the report to finish downloading to the lairs computer. Once done Tygra sat and started to read.

The more he read the more awake he became; "by thundera" he exclaimed and woke up the other ThunderCats.

Tygra ran past the guard that was taking his place, the guard didn't even get a chance to greet the tiger as he shot out the door in a orange and white blur.

Tygra was met in the hallway by a very sleepy lion "sorry to wake you but this couldn't wait until morning "Tygra apologized as they entered the council chamber.

The tiger walked over and pulled the report up on the main computer screen for everyone to see, "Mandora contacted me a few minutes ago, apparently one of their scouts picked up a signal that was sent little over 15 years ago from one of our convoy ship "

"Wait "Cheetara replied, "we lost all our convoy ships when the mutants attack trying to get to the flag ship"

"Or so we thought "Tygra said and click a button on the table, a vice recording started to play.

"this is Captain Brya of the Thunderian ship, cougra1, we lost contact with the flag ship, all the other ships in the convoy have all but been destroyed, our defense systems are down, weapons useless, we are drifting in space away from the flagship, may Jaga and the eye of thundera protect them and see them safe "Tygra paused the recording.

"Damn it." Panthro growled "we should have checked".

"You and I both know were didn't have time. We were surrounded and Jaga knew we had to get to safety" Tygra said.

"ok so if the signal was sent that long ago how do we know they even made it to a planet and are still alive? " Lion-O said.

"Because of this, "Tygra said and pressed the button again.

"Ships scans shows us a suitable planet we could land on and sustain ourselves until help arrives, only problem is only some of our suspension capsules are functioning and we don't want to take the chance of the ones that are left to malfunction and kill whoever is inside, if we are lucky and the eye of thundera is on our side we can make it to the planet in 6 years, we should have enough food and supplies for our crew of fifty"

"So is there more? " Cheetara asked,

"No that was it" Tygra answered "but we have the coordinates of the planet in question and we could go and check it out ourselves "

"Agreed "Lion-O nodded, "Panthro have the feline fueled and ready, we will leave at first light"

"On it" the panther said and got up from his seat and headed to the hanger.


	2. Chapter 2

Lost in limbo

Chapter 2

True to his word the feline was ready to take flight at first light, Tygra in the co-pilot seat, with Panthro at the helm, Cheetara sitting at the back calling off the preflight checks as Lion-O made sure everything was secure and the area was all clear for takeoff.

Once in the air the ThunderCats settled in for the long flight, even with the new engines it would take a couple days to reach their destination.

"You know if we find them all alive we will have to call for help to bring them back home, "Tygra said.

"That's if they want to return" Cheetara replied from the middle seat. "I mean it has been a long time, maybe they have set up a new home like we had done on third earth, with over fifty people they may have settled and started families of their own"

"Well," Tygra said, "all we can do is go and see for ourselves and cheek out the situation, and give them the option to return home to thundera if they wish"

"I know I was happy when thundera reformed and I couldn't wait to get back home" Panthro added, "so I can't see why they wouldn't want to come home".

Lion-O came up and sat down," I managed to find the crew manifest of that ship, they not only had crew but some civilians, seems they were one of the last ships to lift off just before we did and manage to take as many civilians as they could possibly carry"

Tygra turned his head," Panthro? What is it?" seeing an odd look on the panthers face.

Panthro just shook his head,"nothing, just thinking how many that didn't make it off thundera".

Tygra's face turned somber, they had lost loved ones, friends, comrades that day. Panthro was one of his oldest and closest friends. He could see there was more to the panther's expression then he was letting on or willing to speak of. Not that he blamed him; it was a painful memory, one they had many years to get over and heal from. But it was one they didn't speak of often.

Even Cheetara noticed and she didn't need her sixth sense to pick up that something wasn't quite right, but she stayed quiet, there would be plenty of time to find out it would be a long trip, she would wait for the right time to approach the panther.

Later when everyone but Panthro was resting, Cheetara went up to the flight deck to relive the panther, "Go get some sleep I'll take over until Lion-O or Tygra wake "

"Nah, I'm fine for a few more hours "Panthro replied glancing at the cheetah.

"Suit yourself" Cheetara said with a slight shrug of her shoulders and plopped down in the empty co-pilot chair. She opened up the file she had in her hand and began reading.

Panthro remained silent and kept his gaze out the front window watching the stars as they glided by.

"You seem a bit distracted since we left thundera" Cheetara said breaking the silence.

"Maybe a bit of guilt" Panthro admitted, "We left them behind"

"We had our orders. We had to protect Lion-O and the eye, we really had no choice" Cheetara said, "but there is more isn't there?" she asked.

"No" Panthro said flatly.

"No? "Cheetara questioned, "So we just go and evaluate the situation and then what?"

"Give them the option of returning home" Panthro answered.

"Have you even looked at the list of the ship's crew and passengers?" Cheetara asked.

"what does it matter we don't even know if any of them survived the trip or are still alive, for all we know we may be heading to a grave yard " Panthro said still staring straight ahead.

Cheetara just looked at him "you really have your guard up don't you?"

Panthro just looked at her and scowled.

"Don't give me that look, that look don't scare me panther, you may as well come clean because in a little over twelve hours we will find out anyway " Cheetara said with a slight smile

"It's been over fifteen years, no good digging up the past that has taken so long to burry" the panther said stubbornly.

Cheetara knew when the panther got in one of is moods it would be like pulling teeth to get anything out of him, what she said next gave her the answer she was looking for. "She was someone special wasn't she?"

The look on the panther face was hard as a rock but it was his eyes that betrayed him. He suddenly stood, "the watch is yours," he said before he escaped below deck.

Cheetara knew she struck a nerve, she went back reading the list on the papers she had on her lap, Tygra came up a few minutes later, Cheetara looked up at the orange tiger, "think this will be a long interesting trip"

"What makes you say that? " Tygra asked.

"Our dear panther is in a mood"

"I noticed that since we got the news about that missing ship" Tygra said as he sat in the pilot chair.

"So do you have any idea what's wrong? "Cheetara asked.

"You know Panthro, he has always kept things pretty much to himself" Tygra answered. "And given who we are there's probably isn't much to tell, we had no time for anything but our job and our job didn't allow for a personal life back then"

"I have the feeling that Panthro is hiding something" Cheetara said, "It was the look in his eyes"

"Think its best just to leave him alone," Tygra said.

Cheetara's head came up, "you know don't you?"

"I gave my word as a thundercat I wouldn't say one word" Tygra answered.


	3. Chapter 3

Lost in limbo

Chapter 3

As the feline got closer to its destination, Tygra received more information about the planet they were heading to, it was known and Amox5, its climates went from one extreme to another, at its northern and southern poles was extreme cold, and at its middle dry hot wastelands, Intel reports said the planets air was breathable however due to the climates it would be hard to grow crops as there was little fresh water and only tiny oceans to support any marine life. That and the added report of the damage the ship had taken, Tygra began to doubt their chances of survival even if they did manage to reach the planet and land intact, he doubted they would have enough supplies for fifty people to last over fifteen years .

Tygra had the long range scanners set to max, looking for any type of signal be it beacon or communication signal or any type of marker the injure ship may have set out along its course, interstellar traffic wasn't heavy in this sector for a good reason, there wasn't many inhalable planets . With no life there could be no trading posts or outposts accept for a few tiny mining operations that were more or less handled by robotics and even those would only need to be maintained every few years. Of all places to go this was not a very good place to pick, but since they really had no other choice it was better than floating around in dead space waiting to perish.

Tygra leaned forward in his seat and sent out an old Thunderian signal one they use to use on old thundera and waited again for any response.

"Anything?" Lion-O asked coming up from the lower deck.

"Nothing so far" Tygra answered,"and we should be getting something by now"

As if on cue a tiny ping sounded over the speakers, "Beacon" Tygra smiled and adjusted the controls, "One of ours alright"

"Pulling it in" Lion-O said sending out a grappling line to grab the beacon and bring it on board.

Once on board they were able to confirm it came from the ship Cougra1, but this one was damaged and would be near impossible to recover any recordings. However they were on mission and there for determination would prevail, the beacon was given to the one person who would be the only one who could recover anything.

Within an hour Panthro pulled the beacon apart and had the recorder in his hand, like a skilled surgeon he wired the delicate recorder to the feliner's computer system , " There is no sound but we have bits of video " Panthro said pressing the button ,bringing the screen to life.

The screen flickered and showed the Cougra1 Bridge, her captain giving orders and crew in the back ground moving around, scurrying about trying to fix the damage done. As they watched Panthro hit a button freezing the video, he touched another button to zoom in on something in the background.

His eyes widened a bit as he stared at the screen, a woman stood side too in the background, a tall dark haired woman , her features could hardly be seen, but there was no mistaking this woman , he knew her. He knew that stance, the tilt of her head. Relief washed over him, he knew she at least survived the planets destruction. Now the question was, was she still alive?

"Friend of yours?" Lion-O asked seeing the look on the panthers face.

"Yes, you could say that" Panthro nodded, "a fellow martial arts student, I knew a long time ago"

"She's pretty," the lion teased, the panther looked at him and scowled.

"Oh stop being such a grump" Lion-O chuckled.

Tygra interrupted the soon to be banter from the panther "we are within transmission range"

"Trying standard hail" Panthro said flipping the switch.

They sat and waited but the radio remained silent, Panthro tried sending a signal in old Thunderian , but the radio made no sound. "So now what?" Lion-O asked.

"Now we wait until we are in range of the planet and start scanning for wreckage, they may have crash landed and were unable to salvage their communication system" Tygra answered.

"Get Cheetara up here, we will need everyone manning their stations for this" Panthro replied and pushed the engines just a bit harder to get to the planet.

Lion-O nodded and went below to fetch the cheetah.


	4. Chapter 4

Lost in limbo

Chapter 4

The feliner came within scanning distance of the planet Amox5, "All scanners at max" Tygra announced, they were scanning for not only the ship, but life forms as well in case there wasn't much left of the ship. After nearly twenty minutes was no sign of the ship or any life on the planet.

"It's like looking for a certain grain of sand in a desert" Lion-O commented as the tension the air grew.

"Adjusting scans " Panthro replied then started fine tuning the scanners.

After a few minutes of silence Cheetara spoke up" Wait, I have something, sector 3 grid 25" the rest of the ThunderCats adjusted their scans to the area.

Tygra looked at the panther "what do you think?"

Panthro magnified the area in question, "right size and density. Has to be them"

Tygra took over the scan as Panthro piloted the ship closer to the planet, "Looks like the ship is in one piece, however," The tiger paused as he brought up picture from the surrounding area, "its half buried by sand"

"Well least the ships landing fared better than we did" Panthro said referring to their crash landing on third earth all those years ago. "Not sure how operational it will be being half way under sand all these years, wouldn't take much for sand to get in and corrode the electrical and computer systems"

"Panthro I did a scan of the surrounding area, looks like a cave system, with a small water supply, if they are alive they may be there" Cheetara said and fed the coordinates to the pilot computer.

"I want to check out the ship first" Panthro said as they entered the planet's atmosphere.

The feliner started to shake "rough ride" Tygra said trying to stabilize the ship and the panther concentrated on keeping them in one piece.

"We are flying half blind," Panthro said as the screens went dead.

"Some sort of magnetic interference, trying to compensate." Lion-O said from his console as he tried to bring the screens back to life.

As the feliner got closer to the ground they found themselves in the middle of a massive sand storm, "just can't catch a break," Panthro grumbled as he struggled with the controls, now they were completely blind with both screens and now zero visibility.

The feliner engines started to spit and sputter, "Oh come on," Panthro growled, "don't you dare do this to me now"

Tygra seen through the sand storm that they were coming up on the ground fast and hit the reverse thrusters. Keeping the feliner's nose up the ship landed with a slight thud.

"Everyone alright?" Panthro asked shutting down the engines.

"Yes," both Lion-O and Cheetara answered in unison.

"Not one of your better landings my friend" Tygra said with a slight smirk.

The panther grinned, "Were are in one piece so I say one of my best"

"Ok ThunderCats let's go see if we can find survivors" Lion-O said heading to the back of the feliner.

Despite the temperature outside being near the mid 130 the cats dressed in cloaks and protective face masks to shield them from the harsh blowing sand. Hand held scanners proved useless as the magnetic interference they experienced in the planet upper atmosphere also extended to the ground.

"This way," Cheetara yelled over the wind and lead the group to the downed Thunderian convoy ship.

Forcing open the door the four went inside, everything was pitch dark, taking out flashlights the first place they headed was the bridge.

Lion-O and Cheetara looked around as Panthro and Tygra went to the main controls, "Bah, no power," Panthro grumbled,

"I don't think anyone has been in here in a long time "Tygra said running his finger over the console leaving a trail in the thick build up of dust.

"Let's check out the rest of the ship, Cheetara and I will check the crew quarters, you and Tygra check out the cargo bay" Lion-O said. "we'll meet back here in twenty minutes"

Lion-O and Cheetara went room to room checking the crew quarters, but found each empty save for a few items. "Well we know they didn't leave in a hurry, everything has been packed up and taken" Cheetara said looking around, everything was covered in dust.

"And we know they haven't been here for a while, Snarf would have a fit if he seen all this dust" Lion-O replied as they finished searching the first and second crew decks.

On the way they checked the medical bay and it too was empty, everything had been packed up and moved , as the lion and cheetah left themed bay they met up with the panther and tiger, " Nothing in the cargo hold" Panthro said.

"Same as the crew quarters and med bay," Lion-O said.

"So now we find that cave" Tygra said.

The four went to go outside but froze when they seen a group of ten people standing before them cloaked and weapons pointing at them. "Not one more step" A male voice bellowed, "Who are you and what are you doing here?"

"We are here to help" Lion-O answered

"Who said we needed help!" another male replied.

"Just calm down," Tygra spoke up, "We had received word of this ship being in trouble and we came to see if there were any survivors"

"Well you are a bit late aren't you?"

"Well this place is far out of the way, look we wish to speak to Captain Brya" Tygra continued.

Two of the cloaked men turned to each other and one of them nodded. "First tell us who you are"

"I am Lion-O, lord of the ThunderCats" the lion said as he and the others removed their hoods and protective face masks, "this is, Tygra, Cheetara and Panthro"

The group of men dropped to one knee "My Lord" one spoke, "we had no idea"

"It's alright, we would have reacted the same way if we were in your position" Lion-O said calmly, "now are you the crew of this ship?"

"Part of the crew yes" The man said and removed his cloak and nodded to the others to follow suit. "I am captain Brya" he sid introducing himself. "I haven't seen you since you were a boy my lord and I would know you anywhere, you look so much like your father"

Lion-O bowed slightly, "thank you captain. My father was a great man"

Captain Brya note he spoke of his former king is the past tense. So he knew the old king didn't survive. "My lord we are but a small crew only thirty of us made it. Twenty men and ten women, we lost twenty of our people over the years due to these harsh conditions"

"well, worry no more, we have come to take you home if you wish" the lion said

"Home?"

"Yes Thundera reformed and we have rebuilt it, many have returned home"

"What about the others?" Panthro asked intruding his leader/

"They are back at the cave. We thought it safer after our power supply gave out. We will take you to meet the others"

The group departed the ship and stepped outside, the sand storm had finally calmed down enough so they could see which direction they were going. As they got close o the entrance of the cave, more people came out to greet them. They all went inside. As they went deeper into the cave system the ThunderCats noticed how warm and bright it was. What surprised them more was one part of the cave grew a lush field of crops, it was a type of bio-dome the crew had created so they could at least grow food.

"This is amazing" Tygra commented as they looked around.

"this was five years in the making" Brya answered, "we had to covert our laser and cut out about ten tons of rock to make enough room for a small crop farm, we planted seed we had on board"

"But our scans showed hardly any water" Tygra said.

"We tapped into a underground spring and made a irrigation system" Brya answered.

The ThunderCats attention was drawn to the sounds of giggling, they turned and seen a small group of young children of between the ages of six and three years of age. Lion-O turned back to the captain.

"Well, sometimes nature has its own way of popping up" Brya said with a slight chuckle. "but we are careful to control our population, it could lead to umm, problems down the road"

Lion-O gave Tygra a look.

"He means inbreeding," the tiger whispered," the males outnumber the females 2-1"

"ah got ya " Lion-O said with a nod.

"I am so sorry," a young woman said running into the room "these little rats got away from me again"

The group turned towards the young woman "It's ok Lethea, as you can see we have guests" Brya said.

Panthro looked at the young woman his jaw nearly dropped; she looked exactly like the woman he had known years ago, but it wasn't possible this one was way too young to be her. She couldn't have been more the twelve or thirteen. But she looked exactly like her. Same eyes same pitch black hair same nose.

"Please come and meet the others" Brya said and lead the ThunderCats to another part of the cave.


	5. Chapter 5

Lost in limbo

Chapter 5

As the ThunderCats walked through the cave they saw many paths shooting off in every direction, the tunnel system for many miles and if one wasn't careful or if one wasn't familiar with them they could easily get lost, make shift solar torches along the walls was their main source of light, in some spots along the way there were small pools dug in the floor to catch any condensation that forms in the damper parts of the cave. The ThunderCats were quite impressed with the progress the survivors had made with what equipment and resources they had on hand, however something didn't seem quite right and they were unable to put their finger on it just yet.

The group arrived to the main chamber of the cave, this was their gathering place, and tables along the walls also designated it as their eating place also a short distance away in a small antechamber server as a cooking station.

"I have to say you and your people have done well "Lion-O said as he glanced around.

"we do what we have to do to survive" Brya replied then started introducing what was left of his crew all but one, who seem to be missing, he leaned over and whispered something to one of the male tigers, the tiger nodded and headed down one of the others paths.

"We have brought supplies with us, food, water, medical equipment and also any mechanical parts you may need, Panthro is our master mechanic. If is broken he can fix it" Lion-O said with a smile. "Our ship isn't big enough to carry all of you, but we can call for transport for you and your crew if you wish to return with us back to thundera"

"I will have to consult with my fellow crew mates first "Brya said, which surprised the ThunderCats. "You have to understand we have built a life here and I am not sure if they want to leave that"

"Of course," Tygra spoke up before his leader could speak. However that didn't stop the panther from voicing his opinion.

"You're joking right? You would rather live on this dust ball then go home?"

"Panthro" Tygra said cautioning the panther to take care of what he said.

Brya gave the panther a look, Panthro looked at him, his eyes hard and cold. "You have young ones here; they deserve to grow up in a place less dangerous"

Lion-O just shook his head; diplomacy was not one of the panther's strong suits. He put his hand on the panthers arm and pulled him away from the group. "Please let me handle this"

"But" Panthro started to protest.

"No buts" Lion-O said firmly. The panther grumbled something under his breath and walked back to the group.

"Please my new friends" Bray said," Come and join us for our evening meal"

The group didn't notice the tiger Brya had send off had returned.

"Ah there you are my dear" Brya said with a smiled. "Come and meet our new friends" he said to the woman who had returned with the tiger.

Like the other females they met this female obeyed without question, with her head lowered she made her way over to Brya "I would like you to meet Leanna" Brya smiled proudly "My mate".

"This is Lord Lion-O, Tygra, Cheetara and Panthro" Brya said introducing their visitors.

Leanne's head shot up and the panther's name, she looked at him and slightly shook her head her eyes warning him not to react or say anything. It took every ounce of will power for Panthro not to rush forward and grab the Thunderian lioness and hug her tightly, but it was the look in her eyes that stopped him, something was wrong and he knew it.

The lioness lowered her gaze and bowed slightly" My lord" she said quietly.

Lion-O nodded as he and the rest of his group were lead to the tables to eat.

One thing the lion didn't like was that Cheetara was pulled away and was asked to sit with the other females at the table on the opposite side of the room. He was going to protest when Tygra seeing his king's distress leaned over and whispered to him. "This may not be the place to voice your opinion on how we should be sitting" he said and slightly nodded to the twenty big male cats surrounding them.

Not only did the seating arrangement seem odd to the ThunderCats but dinner went quiet and almost hurried once the plate were empty the women cleared the plates in silence and done so in a quick manner. This was something they were not use to; they had always used their gathering for meals to talk about the day's events and any progress they had made.

"I would like to go back to our ship, we had a rough landing and I need to check for any damage" Panthro said as he watching the females all but Cheetara scurry off into another room.

"I will get someone to escort you" Brya replied

"No need I can find it no problem" Panthro insisted.

"It will be dark soon and the sand storm hasn't let up any, perhaps its best to wait until morning, you are welcomed to stay we have extra cots for you to sleep on" Brya offered.

Lion-O looked to his fellow ThunderCats. Who nodded in agreement, "alright we will take you up on your offer, thank you, it's been a long trip and we could use the rest"

"Of course" Brya nodded and showed them to another anti- chamber.

All but Cheetara who was asked to go to another chamber with the other females, settled down for a few hours sleep.

"I don't like this" Panthro said quietly to his king, "Something is off"

Lion-O looked over at the panther "I do admit it does seem a bit odd"

"A bit odd? Did you see how they treat the women?" Panthro stated.

"Maybe it is the only way they can keep their society at peace" Lion-O answered.

"By treating their women like cattle?" Panthro groused.

Lion-O knew the panther was right, "we will sort it out after we talk to them more about going home, now go to sleep"

Panthro grumbled to himself, like sleep was going to happen, his mind was like a runaway train. After an hour he quietly got up, once he made sure Tygra and Lion-O were sound asleep he quietly slipped out of the chamber and went exploring.

As he made his way down the paths he used his claws to mark the way so he could find his way back. Every few feet he would take his claw and mark a spot on one side of the soft stone wall. And made note of the torches on the wall of which side they were on, if he had to make a quick retreat he wouldn't get lost .


	6. Chapter 6

Lost in limbo

Chapter 6

Lion-O woke to find the panther missing. Somehow this did not surprise him.

He looked over and seen at least Tygra was still asleep. The lion lay quiet for a moment, should he wake the tiger and go searching for the mechanic and probably wake everyone else in the process and cause a commotion or let the panther be and if he got caught then deal with the situation. And the sword would warn him if there was any trouble. He listened for a few minutes and heard nothing but silence, he decided to go back to sleep or at least try to. He was worried about Panthro; he had known the panther all his life but never seen him so out of sorts before, it was like he was on a mission and nothing or no one was going to get in his way .

Meanwhile deep inside the cave Panthro was making his way long the lit stone corridors. His ears listening for any sounds his eyes for any movements. He was on high alert for anything. he caught the sound of a slight sob sound and followed. He rounded a corner and seen a figure sitting on a stone, cloaked in a cream colour robe it was hard to tell who it was. He stopped. the figure lifted its head. It was the lioness, her eyes widened when she seen the panther, she stood quickly.

"Please" she pleaded her voice soft and low "Stop haunting me" she said as she backed up slowly.

Panthro stepped forward "Lea. It's really me"

"Can't be you're dead" she said backing up further. "My mind is playing cruel tricks on me"

Within three strides the panther was in front of her "I can assure you I am quite alive" he said placing his hands on her shoulders.

The lioness reached up and touched his face, running her fingers down his right cheek "Pan?" she questioned unsure of what she was seeing was real.

"Hello beautiful." He smiled. The lioness stepped back and slapped him hard across the face "Damn you panther, I thought you were dead" she growled "you have been alive this whole time?"

"Lea" Panthro said rubbing the sting in his cheek.

"No. I thought you dead for over fifteen years. I mourned your death" she said angrily. "And now you just out of the blue show up. What the hell"

"Woman will you listen a minute" Panthro said.

"You sneak off in the middle of the night, no note to nothing. Didn't even wake me to say good bye, you left like a thief in the night and you expect me to be calm?" the lioness ranted.

Panthro stood with his arms crossed over his chest "are you finished?"

"Far from it" Leanna growled

"I can't say how sorry I am I done that, but I had to go I got a message we had to get ready and I didn't have much time and I wasn't even supposed to be off lair grounds at the time " Panthro tried to explain.

"You could have woken me to at least say good bye"

"I couldn't" the panther sighed "I knew that maybe the last time I saw you, and you laying sleep was the last image I wanted to carry not the painful tears i knew would come if I woke you up "

"Coward" the lioness hissed

"Yes I admit at the time I was. I couldn't stand to see you upset. So I thought it best I leave while you looked so peaceful laying there. I know you're angry and you have every right to be"

"I don't know how to feel besides shock" the lioness said.

"I thought I lost you, we seen the convoy being attack we lost so many ships and we are under attack and couldn't help. We had to get out of there to protect Lion-O"

"I know we seen the attacks, we were hit and were drifting away from the rest of the convoy. We lost power to everything but life support" Leanna said "then when Thundera exploded we were pushed off course in the opposite direction of where we seen the flag ship go. We thought the mutants got you too"

"They nearly did, they damaged out ship and boarded us. But we managed to repel them and they ran like cowards. We had to find another planet other than the one we were heading for due to the damage we sustained. We had to go into suspension capsules for ten years in order to make it, all but Jaga made it to the new planet" Panthro explained.

"That would explain why you haven't changed much" the lioness said.

"Please forgive me?" Panthro asked "I thought by now you would have forgotten me"

"Hardly" the lioness said and raised her arm showing her wrist. Wrapped around her wrist was the other arm band the panther use to wear on his right arm "you left it behind when you rushed out of my room"

"Was wondering where that got too" he smiled running his fingers over the band.

"We wasn't as lucky as you were, we couldn't go into the suspension capsules they were damaged, luckily we found this place within a year. We lost so many people building this place" Leanna said.

"So Brya is your mate?" Panthro asked

"Yes and no" Leanna said "he is my protector"

"From?"

"You have seen our situation." The lioness said

"Yeah something not right about it that's for sure" Panthro said.

"Ten men five women, we had to find away to keep things peaceful. So Brya claimed me as his mate to keep the others from bothering me" Leanna said

"Is that all?" Panthro asked

"I don't want to talk about it please "the lioness said becoming a bit agitated

"Ok, ok" Panthro replied and drew the lioness in his arms and hugged her tightly.

"Promise me one thing" She said laying her head against the panthers strong chest.

"Anything"

"If we are not allowed to leave please take Lethea with you, I don't care how you do it, just take her away from here" Leanna said almost pleading.

"Oh your coming with us come hell or high water." Panthro stated.

"Can we speak of this later, I have to get back before I am missed" Leanna said and started to pull away.

"no" the panther said holding her tighter " I just found you I am not letting you go again"

"You have to let me go, it's too dangerous for me to even be talking to you right now. Please Pan. We will speak again I promise" the lioness said and softly kissed him.

"In that case I am definitely not leaving you alone" Panthro said and scooped the lioness up in his arms "which way is the entrance?" he asked.

"Are you crazy?" Leanna gasped.

"I'm taking you somewhere safe" Panthro answered, "Now which way to the entrance? I will not ask again"

Leanna pointed the wayand the panther hurried towards the entrance of the cave.


	7. Chapter 7

Lost in limbo

Chapter 7

It was the sound of a high pitch alarm that woke Lion-O and Tygra. The two quickly got to their feet as Brya and two other men came into the sleeping chamber.

"Where is your other man?" Brya questioned

Tygra looked to his king, he had no idea what was going on. "The Panther. Where is he?" Brya asked again this time a bit more urgently.

"He can't be too far," Lion-O answered hoping that statement was true. "Why?"

Brya's face grew serious "I told you and your people no one was to leave the chambers or the cave. And now we have two missing"

"Wait" Tygra said "two people? Who?"

"Your man and my mate" Brya answered.

Lion-O stole a quick glance at Tygra. "Maybe he got up before us and just went for a walk and got lost" Lion-O said trying to defuse the situation.

"He was told not to leave "Brya growled.

A sheepish grin crossed the lion kings face "Well Panthro has his own way of doing things and well sometimes he can be a bit on the stubborn side".

Tygra nodded In agreement "perhaps Panthro left to check on our ship, he does usually set to work at first light"

Brya frowned "And my mate where is she?"

Both Tygra and Lion-O both shook their heads "We have not seen her since last night's meal, and neither one of us has left this chamber all night"

Brya's eyes narrowed he threw back his head "LETHEA!" he bellowed.

Within minutes the young woman ran into the room, "Where is your mother?" Brya asked then grabbed the young lioness by the jaw and pulled her face to meet his "and don't you dare lie to me!"

"I…I don't know," Lethea stammered slightly and flinched as Brya's grip tightened on her jaw.

"If she wasn't with me and wasn't with you then where is she? "He asked again.

Tears sprung to Lethea's eyes as Brya's claws dig into her flesh "I don't know"

The sword on the lion's hip let out a warning growl. Tygra walked over and placed his hand on Brya's shoulder "the girl doesn't know. No need to hurt her"

Brya's head snapped around "mind your business ThunderCat"

"Enough!" Lion-O growled and pulled the young lioness away from the cougar, "you alright?" He asked Lethea. Tygra noticed as soon as Lion-O touched the young woman the sword flashed the cats head and then went back to the eye symbol, showing it was at rest and all was calm.

"Yes "she said quietly, it wasn't the first time she was on the receiving end of Brya's anger. "I will go and see if I can find my mother" she said and quickly ran out of the room.

"You have no right to interfere" Brya snarled angrily.

"You forget to whom you are speaking too," Lion-O said standing up to the irate cougar. "I am Lord of the ThunderCats and your KING!"

Brya started to say something but quickly chose not to. He bowed his head slightly "yes, my lord, forgive me. I lost my head for a moment, I am concerned about my mate".

"I can understand your concern. However, if she happened to have run into Panthro. I can sure you, he would not harm her in anyway "Lion-O said trying to calm the situation down. "If he was going to our ship, he may have gotten lost and asked her for directions to the entrance".

Brya seemed satisfied with the lion's explanation. For the moment. "I will send my men to the entrance and see if anyone has passed through" Brya said and left, taking his two men with him.

After they left Lion-O let out a sign of relief, Tygra turned to his leader. "Ok. What do you know?" the tiger questioned.

"We have big trouble that I know for sure... Late last night, I woke up, and Panthro was gone" Lion-O said.

Tygra just shook his head "you should have woken me. We could have gone to look for him"

"Then what? "Lion-O asked "Drag him back? Look, Tygra, ever since we found out Brya's ship survived, Panthro has gone all evasive".

Tygra scratched his chin. And looked at the sword again.

Lion-O gave him an odd look "what is it Tygra?"

"When Brya grabbed Lethea, the sword growled and when you touched her, the ThunderCats symbol flashed for a brief moment"

Lion-O looked down at his hip and took the sword out of the claw shield "hmm. It's never done that before," He said looking at the now quiet eye.

"Strange indeed "Tygra remarked "Perhaps the sword can show you where Panthro is?"

"Worth a try" Lion-O said with a slight shrug. Holding the sword before is face. He commanded the mystic sword to give him sight beyond sight.

The sword hummed to life, the bars curled but showed nothing but blowing sand. "Anything?" Tygra asked standing beside the ThunderCat lord.

"Nothing but blowing sand "Lion-O said and lowered the sword "He must be alright. Otherwise the sword would show me if he was in trouble"

"We both know Panthro is very capable of taking care of himself, "Tygra said "it's just what will happen if Brya and his men catch up to him I am concerned about "

"I don't understand why he would take off like that" Lion-O stated.

"Give you one clue…Leanna "Tygra answered.

"We better find him first "Lion-O said and left to find Cheetara, with Tygra right behind him.


	8. Chapter 8

Lost in limbo 8

Desert dwellers often leave their cook pots out in a sand storm tor cleaning, hunters also leave bones they want to use for tools out it have the any remaining bits blown away. The windblown sand has its uses and also has its curses as well. It has the nasty habit of getting into the tiniest of cracks and crevices ,causing havoc on electronic equipment and clogging up essential and delicate parts ,as the panther found out as the ramp of the feliner groaned and grinded its way open.

He ended up forcing the ramp open enough to allow him to enter, once inside he turned around and offered his hand to the lioness.

"Damn stuff gets everywhere," Panthro grumbled as he pulled Leanna inside the ThunderCat craft.

"I told you it wasn't a good idea to go out in the storm," Leanna said brushing the sand from her long robes "but oh no, you just had to go out in it anyway".

"Well ,we made it," Panthro said heading up to the cockpit "I need to see what systems have been damaged"

"You do that," the lioness said and turned back to the ramp, she had to get back before she was missed.

Panthro went to sit down and glanced behind him, "where are you going?"

"I have to get back, I got you to your ship" She said and adjusted the hood of her robes.

Panthro stood and went to the back "I'm not going to be able to find my way back" he stated.

Leanna just looked at him, she knew that was just an excuse to keep her there "I can come back in a few hours and check on you"

"Please, I may need an extra hand "

"Mechanics is your department" Leanna replied

"And last I knew electronics was yours "Panthro said with a slight smirk "and some of those boards are in very tight places, way too small for my hands"

The lioness sighed "alright "she said defeated and removed her outer robe and laid it on one of the empty chairs.

This was the first time Panthro got a good look at her, he was shocked at how thin she was. Even though she tried to mask it under a dark tunic and leggings he still seen it. "How long has it been since you had any real protein?" the panther asked.

The lioness shook her head "I don't even remember, maybe four, five years. What little we have left, we give to the children"

Panthro put his hand on her upper arm and closed his hand fully around her bicep. Even under the long sleeve he could feel how much muscle she has lost over the years. "We need to get you guys off this planet as soon as possible"

Leanna looked up at him "We can't" she said pulling her arm away.

Panthro gave her a confused look "sure you can, as soon as I get the Feliner up and running, we will leave"

"No," Leanna said shaking her head "You don't understand"

Panthro sat down on one of the nearby seats "enlighten me"

"Don't you think if we could have left, we would have done so already "Leanna replied "we tried a year after we crashed…but" she said then went silent.

"But?"

"But the crew who tried to leave the atmosphere, died within minutes"

Panthro just looked at her "what happened?"

"We are still not a hundred percent sure…but as soon as their ship broke the thermosphere. They became very ill, they lost consciousness and crashed back to the ground"

Panthro thought for a moment "And their health before they left?"

"Peek physical condition, not even so much as a sniffle" Leanna answered, "the only thing we can think of is that there is something in the atmosphere that affects us. But we don't have the medical equipment to do a thorough scan"

"You mean some kind of virus?" Panthro asked.

"We believe so "the lioness nodded, "Panthro, you and the others are in danger, the longer you stay, the greater chances of you getting infected as well"

Panthro stood and placed his hands on the lioness's shoulders "Don't you worry…between Tygra and Pumyra we will get it figured out. But for now I need to see what damage the feliner has sustained and that will go a lot faster if you help me".

"Still as stubborn as ever, "Leanna said reaching up and tying back her long black mane.

Panthro just looked at her and smirked, then turned and went back to the cockpit.

The first thing he checked were the engines, after a few miss fires and some unnerving spitting and sputtering, they roared to life. But only for a few short second.

Leanna stood behind the pilot seat with her hands resting on the headrest. "Sounds like the intake valve is clogged" she said looking over the panther's shoulder.

"Need to find a way to clear it and seal the housing so no more sand gets inside" Panthro said

"You'll need to wait for the sandstorm to subside, it's futile to try now" Leanna said looking outside the cockpit window. "I should really go back, we will not get anymore done for a while"

"Are you afraid of him?" Panthro asked, he didn't want to, but he had to ask.

The lioness didn't answer, she turned to leave "I have to go" she stated quietly.


End file.
